What is a General Contractor?

The general contractor’s responsibilities are subject to the delivery method used for the project. For instance, with design-build projects, either the designer or the general contractor manages the entire project from beginning to end. Meaning the general contractor may be responsible for both managing the design, and construction, of the project.

For design-bid-build projects, a design team and general contractor both reports back to the owner under individual contracts. The design team creates the contract documents: drawings, specifications, and other supporting documents. Once finished, the designs are delivered to the general contractor to make a bid on the project and then oversee the project through to completion.

The general contractor has vital responsibilities prior to, throughout, and following the actual construction process that helps with getting the project finished.

Before Construction

Throughout the pre-construction phase, a general contractor could be responsible for some or all of the following:

• Creating a construction budget
• Hiring sub-contractors to complete specialized duties
• Working hand and hand with the designer to be sure the design is realized

Whereas all of these duties start prior to construction starting, the general contractor is going to continue managing the budget, working alongside the architect, and collaborate with additional contractors during the remainder of the project also.

Throughout Construction

While construction is happening, the general contractor is usually responsible for:

• Managing construction work in accordance with contract specifications
• Keeping the project moving and on schedule
• Coordinating specialty contractor timing
• Inspecting quality of construction and/or scheduling inspections
• Making disbursements to vendors and specialty contractors
• Gathering and keeping track of lien waivers

All in all, a general contractor’s role throughout construction is to make sure that everybody is working together well and addressing challenges that could negatively impact the schedule or budget.

Following Construction

Once construction work is finished, a general contractor still has their obligations, comprising:

• Gathering and keeping track of any lien waivers
• Guaranteeing that specialty contractors are getting paid for their work
• Overseeing matters with payments down the payment line

Because the general contractor is the main coordinator of contact between sub-contractors and the building’s owner, the general contractor guarantees that work is completed to specifications and then payment is allocated.

Basically, a general contractor oversees all of the moving parts that make it possible to take a construction project from start to finish. The general contractor typically takes on a managerial role whereas sub-contractors complete the necessary labor.

On lesser-scaled projects, the general contractor may complete some of the work on their own, only contracting out specialty work.

General contractors are just one of many various types of contractors, however, they serve a pivotal role in guaranteeing a project gets finished and everyone involved in the construction process gets paid for their work.